


Smudge

by fififolle



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Blood, Caves, Charcoal, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Pencil, Peril, Pining, Plants, Rivers, Sketching, Wet Clothing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 15:19:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9390662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fififolle/pseuds/fififolle
Summary: Lorne and Parrish shelter from therainflash flood. First posted on LJ in 2008.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Reefgirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reefgirl/gifts).



> Thanks to reefgirluk for the idea, helping me out of a writer's bloc party, this is for you. Her idea made me think of ideas from a little work I did on Wikipedia disambiguating 'cress', and also watching Bear Grylls on TV. Many thanks to ailurophile6 for beta.

He heard Parrish on the radio.  
  
 _“We found it, Major! They are some kind of nasturtium. This is wonderful! Just what we came to find.”_  
  
He sounded so pleased, so happy. Evan Lorne shaded his eyes from the heat of the sun and smiled at Kaufman. “That's great, Doc. We're coming your way now. Lorne out.”  
  
He jerked his head towards the top of the valley and led Kaufman up the dusty, rocky path. Who would have guessed that this half-desert planet would yield any useful plants? He thought they'd been looking for something with unusual environmental features though, not _flowers_. “I want you and Reed to head back to the gate, don't want to leave anything to chance.” He kept up the pace towards the location of the other half of the team.  
  
“Yes, sir,” Kaufman acknowledged, and Evan didn't see the smile spread across his face. “Got your pencils with you, sir?” he added teasingly. The sergeant knew that he was an artist, although he was one of the few that did.  
  
“Shut up, Kaufman,” he laughed. And anyway, they were tinted charcoals, but he wasn't going to give Kaufman the satisfaction.  
  
“Yes, sir!”  
  
When they reached Parrish and Reed, they found themselves in a shaded oasis, small trees lining the rocky sliver of land, filled with a carpet of greenery, stretching into the valley as far as they could see. In the distance, dark clouds marred the blue of the summery sky, and Lorne frowned.  
  
“Reed, take Kaufman and go back to the gate and secure the area.” His eyes dropped from the horizon to the back of the busy scientist kneeling among the greenery. “I'll bring Parrish as soon as the samples are collected.”  
  
That's how it worked - Parrish found the plants, Evan made sure the planet was safe, Parrish collected samples, and they all went back to Atlantis. If the find was useful, another team came back to harvest or do experiments or whatever. They'd done this a dozen times, and Evan had grown to like it. It broke up the monotony of Wraith encounters kinda nicely.  
  
Reed adjusted his P-90 over his tac vest. “Yes sir. You saw the storm, sir?”  
  
Evan nodded. “Yeah. We should be out of here before the rain hits. Go on, get moving.”  
  
Reed and Kaufman exchanged amused glances and set off back along the path through the narrow valley, as Evan shook his head, smiling wryly.  
  
He settled down to sit on a nearby rock, and put his P-90 down carefully. Reaching into a pocket low on his left hip, he brought out his sketchpad and the roll of soft leather containing his tinted charcoal pencils. “Where are the flowers, Parrish?” he asked.  
  
The scientist froze, and looked around, seeing Evan as if he had only just noticed he was there. “I'm sorry, Major? Flowers?” His eyes fixed on the articles in Evan's hands, and he blinked.  
  
“I was going to sketch the nasturtiums. You know, draw? Flowers?” He gave David a slow, easy smile. He liked thinking of him as David.  
  
David's eyes widened. “Oh,” he said.  
  
“Oh?” Evan prompted. “What, oh?”  
  
David shook his head, and stood up, brushing down his knees. “These plants are a little like _Nasturtium officinale_ \- it's watercress,” he explained, without really explaining at all. Seeing Evan's blank look, he added, “Nasturtium flowers aren't really Nasturtiums at all. They're _Tropaeolum_.” He blinked. “Is that...? You _draw?_ ”  
  
“Uh, yeah,” Evan held up a pencil, and looked up at David. “I like to sketch from time to time. We haven't, ah, seen any flowers in a while, have we?” _So much for nasturtiums_. Last time they'd seen a flower that he'd wanted to draw, he hadn't any materials with him. He had been reluctant to flaunt his hobby too widely until he'd known everyone a little better. He knew David pretty well now. Not as well as he'd like, though. And maybe it was just his imagination, but...  
  
A smile grew on David's face. Not really amused, which was the usual reaction when he told people he drew, it was more... Evan wasn't sure what it was, but he liked it. A lot.  
  
But then David's face fell. “I'm sorry. That there aren't any flowers, I mean. Maybe you can draw... something else.” He shrugged.   
  
Evan tried to squash the thought of all the things he might like to draw, and grinned. “Yeah, I'll just make a sketch of the valley while you, you know, do your thing...” he swallowed, and focussed on his sketchpad for a moment.  
  
David got back down to his plants, and Evan chose his sand-tinted pencil and began making short, even strokes in one corner of his page.  
  
After a few minutes, Evan was distracted, and not just by David's long, lean back moving as he worked. He could _smell_ something. He took a hard look at the sky. “You know what, I think we need to finish up here, Doc. Those rain clouds are getting kinda close. What say we wrap up your sampling?” He sighed, reluctant to break up the party, because, actually, yes, sometimes he liked nothing better than to hang about on alien planets talking to and watching David, but life was full of unfair. He tucked his pencils and sketchpad away.  
  
David looked around, a little crestfallen as well. “Oh,” he said, again. “Yes, all right. I'm almost finished.” He blinked, his eyes flicking down to Evan's hands. “I won't be long.”  
  
Reunited with his P-90, Evan watched David as he packed away his samples with long, deft fingers. He wanted to help, if he was honest, but he had a job to do, and it was hard enough to protect his scientist without the added distraction in front of him. Sometimes he thought he might as well be helping. Labelling and bagging and... his eyes snapped up and he stared through the trees, his ears straining to _hear_... something.  
  
Suddenly, large, wet drops of rain began to hit the leaves and branches not far from him, and he watched the floppy green plants on the ground begin to shake and quiver as they too were hit by the rain. Evan blinked as the clouds rolled towards them, and the shower became heavier, faster.  
  
“Okay, we're out of here.” He gripped David's shoulder for a second, and the scientist zipped his backpack shut, and stood up.  
  
“I'm ready,” he said, blinking against the water falling on his face.  
  
Evan put David in front of him and they set off along the path that led back through the narrow valley. “Reed, this is Lorne. We're on our way back. What is your position?”  
  
A moment passed, and Reed answered. “ _We've just reached the plain, Major. No sign of trouble here._ ”  
  
The gate was on a plain above the valley - arid, barren land with little cover. He didn't like the thought of them being so exposed for long. “All right. The rain has reached us, so we're not going to hang around. Lorne out.” He called to David. “You okay?”  
  
David looked around and gave him a damp smile, drops of rain clinging to his eyelashes. “At least it's not cold.”  
  
Evan grinned back, nodded, then looked ahead along the path, keeping the pace up. He was thinking how good David looked with his hair wet, when something stabbed worryingly at his consciousness. He could _hear_ something. He gulped, and began scouring the sides of the valley, eyes darting along the rocky slopes.  
  
Suddenly, he veered off the path, and grabbed at David's arm to pull him with him. “David, we need to climb. Now.” He started to jog between the rocks and through the scrubby trees and bushes at the base of the slope.  
  
David caught the sense of urgency and the use of his first name, and kept up with him. “What is it? What's happening?” He looked around nervously; the rain was pelting down on them, bouncing off the creamy-coloured rocks.  
  
“I've just... I've got a bad feeling about this.” Evan picked his way sideways along the bottom of the valley floor, looking up the slope until he saw a good way up, then launched himself upwards. “Come on, we need to get some height.” He scrambled up through the increasingly wet rocks, and looked to make sure David was following. He was wide-eyed, and hurrying to scramble after him.  
  
“Evan?” he panted, rain running into his mouth, his long limbs finding footholds among the slippery, crumbly rocks. _He could hear it too_.  
  
Evan stared past him up the valley. “Oh, _shit_ ,” he murmured, and tried to pull David with him as he climbed.  
  
David did his best to climb faster, almost hampered by Evan's panicked grip on his jacket, and definitely hampered by the sheet of heavy rain pounding down the side of his face, running under his collar, sticking his pants to his legs. He spared a moment to turn to see the terror that Evan was fleeing, and in the distance he could see the foamy, tumbling cascade of brown water filling the valley floor and coming so fast that it would soon be upon them. “Oh _god_ ,” he choked, and reached with a long arm to grab anything he could, to get some leverage upwards.  
  
With a thunderous roar, a wave of dirty foam and branches struck just below them, and David felt his ankle smashed by something heavy and fast. “Evan!” he hollered, grabbing at him, and hanging on to avoid being swept away.  
  
Evan swore involuntarily as he held on to David, pulling him as best he could as the debris tumbled away and the water swirled below, rushing past in a torrent. “Come on, I've got you, David,” he cried, and his heart pounded as he helped him climb a little higher. _That was too close_.  
  
The radio crackled. “ _Major Lorne, sir?_ ”  
  
“Reed?” Lorne shouted, above the roar of the flash flood thundering relentlessly below them. “Don't tell me. I already know, and we're climbing above it.”  
  
“ _Hell_ ,” Reed replied with a heartfelt cry, “ _I thought you were..._ ”  
  
“Yes, okay, just hang tight, we may have to ride this one out here,” Evan paused to concentrate on climbing. “I don't think we can make it out this way, but we can shelter in one of the hollows, and we'll see you in a few hours.”  
  
David rubbed rain from his face, and looked up the slope, trying to ignore the pain from his leg. The rock face became smoother and steeper and crumblier, and he would have to agree with Evan. He couldn't climb that, injury or no injury. He was beginning to struggle as it was. He glanced down again - he had no idea the water had risen so high, and he gasped, staring down into the murky torrent. “Evan?”  
  
David still calling him _Evan_ thrummed though him alongside the adrenaline, and he couldn't fail him now. He wiped a wet hand on his pants and held it out. “There's a place we can shelter just up here. Come on, David, can you climb?”  
  
David gripped his hand, and was pulled by the strong arm up onto a rocky ledge. He edged his way around, following Evan's lead, until they found themselves in a hollow in the rock, just deep enough for the two of them to sit, the overhang enough to allow the weakening rain to patter down like a curtain without touching them.  
  
He flopped down beside Evan. “Will the... will the water rise any more?” He wiped the rain from his hands and face, and peeled back the tattered leg of his pants to see what his ankle looked like.  
  
Evan shook his head, leaning down to examine the extent of David's injury. “I don't think so. I've seen flash floods in a valley like this before, I think we've seen the worst of it. We'll just sit tight here until the water recedes.” He laid a hand on David's shoulder.  
  
“Oh, good. Okay.” David looked at him with wide trusting eyes, and smiled.  
  
Evan sucked in a breath as he looked at the bloody mess of David's calf, and unclipped his tac vest. “Let me take a look at your leg.”  
  
“I think it's just bruised and a bit cut up.” David watched Evan for a moment. “Thanks. For getting me out of there in time.”  
  
Evan stopped pulling off his tac vest and looked at him, then smiled. “No problem. All part of the service, David. I'll leave your boot on, get your leg cleaned and bandaged, it might not be so bad.”  
  
David blinked, and smiled. “Thanks. And... I like that.”  
  
Evan narrowed his eyes a little, slowly dropping his gear at his side, and reached into a pocket for a dressing, a half smile on his face. “Like what, David?”  
  
“I like you calling me David.” He blinked, and looked down, taking his backpack off, awkward in the small space.  
  
Evan tried to stop himself from beaming, and finally managed as he focussed on wrapping the bandage around David's torn leg. _What a freaking mess_. “Are you in a lot of pain? I'm sorry about this,” he looked up, “David.”  
  
“It's not too bad. It feels better now it's wrapped. We might be here for hours, you say?” He managed a weak smile, but Evan could tell he was hurting a little.  
  
“I wish I could get you out of here sooner. Dr. Beckett will get you fixed up.” He looked out through the dripping rain, shaking his head, “No way a jumper could get to us. We'll just have to wait until the water goes down.” He sat back, so close to David he could feel the heat coming from his damp jacket. Evan felt the hand on his arm.  
  
“It's okay. We can just sit tight like you said,” he met his eyes, “Evan.” He reached out one of those hands with the long, deft fingers and threaded them into the hair just behind Evan's ear, cupping the back of his head and pulling it gently towards him.  
  
Evan's heart was pounding as he let himself be drawn in, opening his mouth breathlessly as David kissed him softly at first, then more insistently, pressing closer and using that intelligent mouth to unbelievable advantage. He managed to balance with one hand against the rock face, so he could use the other to touch David, his face, his neck, his hair.  
  
David pulled back, and licked his lips, bright eyes shining. “Mmmm. I thought maybe some endorphins...” he chuckled as he saw Evan's quirked eyebrow. “Well, let's just say the endorphins are a bonus effect.”  
  
“Dammit, David,” Evan muttered, “It's not that funny. Why are you kissing me?” He was saying this as he leaned in and nuzzled David's neck, eliciting a happy sigh.  
  
“I always wanted to,” he replied, “But I'm usually too busy concentrating on my work.”  
  
“How's the leg feeling?” Evan managed to get one side of David's jacket off, and started working on the other sleeve, not easy when he was trying not to fall backwards off the ledge.  
  
“Oh, much better,” David wriggled out of the sleeve, and pulled Evan nearer so he could kiss him again, before murmuring, “The endorphins are helping a lot.” He ran his hand through Evan's wet hair, keeping the pressure on as he tongued him deep and slow.  
  
“You're k..killing me, David,” Evan stuttered, breathless as they leaned their foreheads together. “We can't...”  
  
“Why not?” David asked softly. “You saved me and I want you, really _want_ you. Now.”  
  
The rain pattered down slowly behind them, drumming against the rock and mixing with the growl of the steady torrent just below in the valley.  
  
Evan let out a deep breath, closing his eyes slowly for a moment, unable to return David's focused gaze. “Reed or Kaufman would have done the same.” Instantly he regretted his words.  
  
David leaned back a little. “Tell me you don't feel the way I do. It's not only because we were nearly killed. Although, I admit, that may have had some bearing on my reckle...”  
  
Evan took David's face in his hands and kissed him powerfully, before biting gently on David's lower lip. “Alright, already. I'm sorry. You know I want you. I just...” he licked his lips. “You know, Air Force,” he shrugged, leaving the words unspoken.  
  
David grinned, “It'll be okay, Evan. I promise.” He stroked Evan's side with one hand, the half-damp fabric clinging more than usual.  
  
Evan shifted his weight a little, and his eyes widened, “Oh, _damn_.” Frowning, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the small sketchpad. It was a little damp around the edges, and he screwed up his face as he flicked through the pages, checking his sketches.  
  
“Are they okay?” David asked anxiously, peering at them with interest. Evan was really _good_.  
  
His face relaxed as he replied, “Yeah, they're not too bad. Just a little wet smudge here and there. None of them were perfect, anyhow, it's just my sketchbook.” He rubbed his forehead with his thumb, clearly a little upset even with the minimal damage. He tucked the book into his tac vest.  
  
Evan looked up to see David's concerned face, smiling with those irresistible creases that just made him want to kiss and lick him all over. David was looking at his forehead, and reached out a hand to stroke his temple.  
  
“You've got a little... charcoal on there,” David murmured, and continued to stroke his skin. Evan was surprised that he knew what it was, and insanely turned on by the touch, the looks David was giving him.  
  
Maybe he needed to snatch David from the jaws of danger a little more often, he mused, as he pinned David to the rock face in a swift movement driven by desire. All he had to worry about now was staying on the ledge for the next few hours.  
  
FIN


End file.
